The conductor of the community orchestra was almost out of his mind. At every single rehearsal, there had been at least one member who had been missing. Planning for a well organized concert was almost impossible. At the last rehearsal, he called for attention and said, "I would like to thank the first violinist for being the only member of the orchestra to attend every rehearsal." The violinist smiled shyly and humbly said to the conductor, "Well, it seemed the least I could do since I won't be at the concert tonight."
All Across America there are people, young and old alike who are uncommitted.
They have the appearance of commitment. They say they’ll show up and they don’t. They say they’ll help out, but they can’t.
Their actions speak louder than their words telling of half-hearted, conditional commitment.
Just what is commitment?
"Commitment demands a choice. Jesus wasted no time getting to the heart of commitment: Either the disciples would be committed to Him and deny their own desires. Or they would be determined to go their own ways and deny Him. The choice to commit is the same for all believers - either deny ourselves or deny Him; either we go His way or we pursue our way.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)
"A young man who was desperately in love with a young lady, wrote her that he would be willing to endure the cold of the frigid zone, or cross the burning sands of the desert, or climb the highest mountains, or swim the ocean, just to be in her charming presence." Then he closed his letter by saying, "And I will see you Wednesday night- if it does not rain!"
How many people love the Lord devotedly, and will be at prayer meeting and do many things only if perfectly convenient?
Rev. L. B. Williams, in his book on "Holiness Illustrations," related that story in the book “Effective Illustrations” by William Moses Tidwell.
Contrast that half-hearted devotion to the widow’s actions at the temple. What does it mean to give all you have like that widow? We use her as an example, but most of us at best give out of our plenty; we don’t give everything. The Lord has been speaking to me about this a lot recently and it’s not fun! He’s asking me to give more than normal. He’s asking me to trust Him above any source of income. It’s one of those things that sounds all pious and holy until you actually have to do it.
When you play poker, the betting starts low and depending on how good your hand is, you’re willing to raise the stakes, slowly putting in more and more of your money. At some point, you get pushed to the limit, and you must declare “all in.” This means that you’re putting everything you have on that one hand. If you lose, you go home. Jesus is asking us to go “all in.” Commitment demands action. It extends beyond our relationship to the heavenly Father to every area of life. Listen now to the first part of the book of Ruth to hear an example of “sold out”, “all in” commitment.
Ruth 1
Naomi Widowed
1Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
This account takes place in the time of the judges. “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25
In the midst of the selfishness and the chaos, the narrative of Ruth is an oasis of hope and redemption.
2The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon (“sick”) and Chilion (“weakening”), Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.
3Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
4They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.
These people of the promise left the land that was the signature mark of their promise. Why? Because there was a famine in the land. And why was there a famine in the land? It was a sign of judgment against the Israelites because “everyone did as he saw fit.” So this family leaves the promise, then they start to get comfortable away from where God wants them. They remain there. And before you know it a decade goes by.
5Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.
6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food.
The Lord is His mercy remembered His people, and Naomi remembered her God and His promises.
7So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9"May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
10And they said to her, "No, but we will surely return with you to your people."
11But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12"Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,
13would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me."
Ruth's Loyalty
14And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
16But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."
18When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
What did Ruth see in Naomi or in Naomi’s God that she was so determined to follow her and stay with her with no hope or promise of a better future?
What caused Ruth to have such a great allegiance to Naomi when Orpah did not?
Orpah clearly cared for Naomi and was sad to go, but ultimately, she went. Why?
Did she have a better family life to go back to in Moab than did Ruth?
Maybe she trusted the gods of Moab more than Shaddai?
Have I ever been that determined to do something- no matter what?
Have I ever claimed such a strong allegiance to someone or something to claim I would devote my life to that person or thing- no matter what?
19So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"
20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21"I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
22So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest (March or April).
We’ll conclude the book next time, but today I want to focus on two verses: 16But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
From Matthew Henry’s Commentary (p.201-2), listen to what Ruth was committing to Naomi.
Travel- Ruth is going to a country she never saw and to a country that she was raised to look down upon as a child.
Lodging- Ruth didn’t know if she’d be living in a house, cottage, shack, tent or under a bridge, but she had to know it wouldn’t be anything great.
Companions- “Your people will be my people.” Ruth was saying to Naomi, “If your people are like you, then I want to be around them.”
§ As God’s people, do people see the love and joy of Christ in us?
§ Do they want to be around us because of Who we are around?
Her God- Ruth was saying, “I will adore the God of Israel, the only living and true God, trust in Him alone, serve Him, and in every thing be ruled by Him.”
Death- Ruth was committing to die with the same integrity and faithfulness that Naomi lived in throughout her entire life.
Burial- Ruth was “not desiring to have so much as her dead body carried back to the country of Moab.”
This is a pattern, for the “sold out,” “all in” convert to God.
We must take the Lord for our God.
We must take his people for our people in all conditions, though they be a poor despised people and not always fun to be around.
We must be willing to submit to God’s yoke and to go where God will have us to go.
We must continue and persevere. Not even death can end our commitment to Christ. It is an everlasting covenant because the Apostle Paul tells us that to join in Christ’s death means we also get to join in with His life and resurrection.
We must bind our souls with a bond never to break these resolutions. There is no turning back.
That sort of “resolve puts temptation to silence. Those who are unresolved stand like a door half open, which invites a thief; but [a] resolution [to be “sold out” and “all in”] shuts and bolts the door.”
A wife who is 85% faithful to her husband is not faithful at all. There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ.
Ruth's words of commitment to Naomi did not speak as loudly as did her actions. She left her family and homeland to return with Naomi to Bethlehem.
Is it really possible to have that kind of commitment?
When the apostle Peter was sentenced to execution, he requested to be crucified upside down as a way to honor His Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The apostle Paul during His ministry was so committed to Christ that he was
Jailed
Beaten
Starved
Stoned
Ridiculed
Run out of town
And eventually killed.
But what about today?
On Oct. 20, Chen Le, a high school student, was expelled from Xinjiang High school for refusing to denounce his faith.
On Oct.27, nearly 1,000 Arastamar Bible school students faced eviction from a West Jarkata Mayors office building where they were living temporarily, in Indonesia.
Recently, two Baptist pastors in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad were fined 2,200 rubles (US $75) after their community "sang psalms and spoke about Christ" on the street.
Tell me, how can we possibly compare our commitment to these faithful brothers and sisters of ours?
God is not asking us to compare with these mighty examples, but He is asking for ALL of us. So:
What areas of our life are we holding back from the Lord?
What in our lives do we need to throw on the table to be “all in” for God?
Where in our lives are we hesitating to follow Him because the way seems unclear?
Let’s pray:
Take my life Lord. I give it to You. Take every hour, every minute, every second of every day you give me on earth. I want to be “all in” for You. I don’t want to hold anything back. I give you my actions, my words, my money, my intelligence, my strength and my heart. Lord, when You see me holding something back, prod me. When You see me hesitating, encourage me. To You be the glory for everything good that comes out of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
All Across America there are people, young and old alike who are uncommitted.
They have the appearance of commitment. They say they’ll show up and they don’t. They say they’ll help out, but they can’t.
Their actions speak louder than their words telling of half-hearted, conditional commitment.
Just what is commitment?
"Commitment demands a choice. Jesus wasted no time getting to the heart of commitment: Either the disciples would be committed to Him and deny their own desires. Or they would be determined to go their own ways and deny Him. The choice to commit is the same for all believers - either deny ourselves or deny Him; either we go His way or we pursue our way.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)
"A young man who was desperately in love with a young lady, wrote her that he would be willing to endure the cold of the frigid zone, or cross the burning sands of the desert, or climb the highest mountains, or swim the ocean, just to be in her charming presence." Then he closed his letter by saying, "And I will see you Wednesday night- if it does not rain!"
How many people love the Lord devotedly, and will be at prayer meeting and do many things only if perfectly convenient?
Rev. L. B. Williams, in his book on "Holiness Illustrations," related that story in the book “Effective Illustrations” by William Moses Tidwell.
Contrast that half-hearted devotion to the widow’s actions at the temple. What does it mean to give all you have like that widow? We use her as an example, but most of us at best give out of our plenty; we don’t give everything. The Lord has been speaking to me about this a lot recently and it’s not fun! He’s asking me to give more than normal. He’s asking me to trust Him above any source of income. It’s one of those things that sounds all pious and holy until you actually have to do it.
When you play poker, the betting starts low and depending on how good your hand is, you’re willing to raise the stakes, slowly putting in more and more of your money. At some point, you get pushed to the limit, and you must declare “all in.” This means that you’re putting everything you have on that one hand. If you lose, you go home. Jesus is asking us to go “all in.” Commitment demands action. It extends beyond our relationship to the heavenly Father to every area of life. Listen now to the first part of the book of Ruth to hear an example of “sold out”, “all in” commitment.
Ruth 1
Naomi Widowed
1Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
This account takes place in the time of the judges. “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25
In the midst of the selfishness and the chaos, the narrative of Ruth is an oasis of hope and redemption.
2The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon (“sick”) and Chilion (“weakening”), Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.
3Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
4They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.
These people of the promise left the land that was the signature mark of their promise. Why? Because there was a famine in the land. And why was there a famine in the land? It was a sign of judgment against the Israelites because “everyone did as he saw fit.” So this family leaves the promise, then they start to get comfortable away from where God wants them. They remain there. And before you know it a decade goes by.
5Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.
6Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food.
The Lord is His mercy remembered His people, and Naomi remembered her God and His promises.
7So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9"May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
10And they said to her, "No, but we will surely return with you to your people."
11But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12"Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,
13would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me."
Ruth's Loyalty
14And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
16But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."
18When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
What did Ruth see in Naomi or in Naomi’s God that she was so determined to follow her and stay with her with no hope or promise of a better future?
What caused Ruth to have such a great allegiance to Naomi when Orpah did not?
Orpah clearly cared for Naomi and was sad to go, but ultimately, she went. Why?
Did she have a better family life to go back to in Moab than did Ruth?
Maybe she trusted the gods of Moab more than Shaddai?
Have I ever been that determined to do something- no matter what?
Have I ever claimed such a strong allegiance to someone or something to claim I would devote my life to that person or thing- no matter what?
19So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"
20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21"I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
22So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest (March or April).
We’ll conclude the book next time, but today I want to focus on two verses: 16But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17"Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
From Matthew Henry’s Commentary (p.201-2), listen to what Ruth was committing to Naomi.
Travel- Ruth is going to a country she never saw and to a country that she was raised to look down upon as a child.
Lodging- Ruth didn’t know if she’d be living in a house, cottage, shack, tent or under a bridge, but she had to know it wouldn’t be anything great.
Companions- “Your people will be my people.” Ruth was saying to Naomi, “If your people are like you, then I want to be around them.”
§ As God’s people, do people see the love and joy of Christ in us?
§ Do they want to be around us because of Who we are around?
Her God- Ruth was saying, “I will adore the God of Israel, the only living and true God, trust in Him alone, serve Him, and in every thing be ruled by Him.”
Death- Ruth was committing to die with the same integrity and faithfulness that Naomi lived in throughout her entire life.
Burial- Ruth was “not desiring to have so much as her dead body carried back to the country of Moab.”
This is a pattern, for the “sold out,” “all in” convert to God.
We must take the Lord for our God.
We must take his people for our people in all conditions, though they be a poor despised people and not always fun to be around.
We must be willing to submit to God’s yoke and to go where God will have us to go.
We must continue and persevere. Not even death can end our commitment to Christ. It is an everlasting covenant because the Apostle Paul tells us that to join in Christ’s death means we also get to join in with His life and resurrection.
We must bind our souls with a bond never to break these resolutions. There is no turning back.
That sort of “resolve puts temptation to silence. Those who are unresolved stand like a door half open, which invites a thief; but [a] resolution [to be “sold out” and “all in”] shuts and bolts the door.”
A wife who is 85% faithful to her husband is not faithful at all. There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ.
Ruth's words of commitment to Naomi did not speak as loudly as did her actions. She left her family and homeland to return with Naomi to Bethlehem.
Is it really possible to have that kind of commitment?
When the apostle Peter was sentenced to execution, he requested to be crucified upside down as a way to honor His Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The apostle Paul during His ministry was so committed to Christ that he was
Jailed
Beaten
Starved
Stoned
Ridiculed
Run out of town
And eventually killed.
But what about today?
On Oct. 20, Chen Le, a high school student, was expelled from Xinjiang High school for refusing to denounce his faith.
On Oct.27, nearly 1,000 Arastamar Bible school students faced eviction from a West Jarkata Mayors office building where they were living temporarily, in Indonesia.
Recently, two Baptist pastors in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad were fined 2,200 rubles (US $75) after their community "sang psalms and spoke about Christ" on the street.
Tell me, how can we possibly compare our commitment to these faithful brothers and sisters of ours?
God is not asking us to compare with these mighty examples, but He is asking for ALL of us. So:
What areas of our life are we holding back from the Lord?
What in our lives do we need to throw on the table to be “all in” for God?
Where in our lives are we hesitating to follow Him because the way seems unclear?
Let’s pray:
Take my life Lord. I give it to You. Take every hour, every minute, every second of every day you give me on earth. I want to be “all in” for You. I don’t want to hold anything back. I give you my actions, my words, my money, my intelligence, my strength and my heart. Lord, when You see me holding something back, prod me. When You see me hesitating, encourage me. To You be the glory for everything good that comes out of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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